1. CAPACITY-The borrower's income and assets (which will help to determine the borrower's ability to repay the loan) 2. CREDIT-The borrower's credit history (which demonstrates the borrower's willingness to repay debts) 3. COLLATERAL-The property value (which indicates whether this extension of credit, secured by this collateral, is a wise financial decision for the lender)

The SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 requires all licensed Mortgage Loan Originators to pass a test developed by NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System And Registry). Each Loan Originator must take and pass the SAFE MLO Test in order to satisfy the SAFE test requirements of any single state jurisdiction.

The SAFE MLO national exam is made up of 120 multiple-choice items that cover 5 content areas: federal mortgage related laws (24% of the test), uniform state content (11%), general mortgage knowledge (20%), mortgage loan origination activities (27%) and ethics (18%).